February 18, 2026
Jake Bonello/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Birds like the black-throated green warbler, pictured above, travel across the Mid-Atlantic in the spring. The Free Library of Philadelphia is lending birding backpacks at all of its branches in time for this migratory season.
Aspiring bird watchers now can check out backpacks loaded with binoculars and field guides from every branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Each branch has at least two backpacks stocked with neighborhood-specific maps and information about local nature groups. Some even contain "kidnoculars" for younger bird watchers or journals for observers to record the species they spot.
The birding backpacks can be checked out for up to three weeks at a time, but must be returned to the branch where they were checked out.
The public library first offered birding backpacks in 2017, but only at three branches. The program has expanded several times in the years since, reaching 20 locations by last fall. Earlier this year, it expanded to the entire system. The backpacks have been checked out over 1,700 times since October, according to numbers provided by the Free Library.
The most popular months, last year's data shows, were May through June. Spring is an ideal season for spotting birds in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region, because many are migrating from the south, building nests and looking for mates. Philadelphia is located along the Atlantic Flyway, a route from Florida to Greenland that birds — particularly water fowl and shorebirds — travel as the temperatures rise and fall.
To capitalize on spring migration, the Free Library will host several guided bird walks and related events in the coming weeks.
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